HELP! How do I make sure I give my new joiner the best start?

Onboarding – Making sure that the big investment you put into the recruitment process wasn't for nothing

You have spent so much time, money, and energy on finding the PERFECT candidate, and now you can’t wait for them to get started.

If you are already working with the Predictive Index tools, congratulations! You can leverage the insight from PI, when onboarding your new employee

So where do we start?

Let’s face it, everyone likes some sort of framework when they are entering a new role. But people have different drives and needs that greatly impact how they experience the onboarding. Let’s talk about how we practically can incorporate them to give your newcomer the best possible start.

Use the factor combinations when you plan the onboarding:

A task-oriented person (A>B in PI)
A person with this factor combination likes to focus on the task at hand. A recommendation is not to book in a lot of meets and greets for the first weeks, but rather give them a list of people in the organization they should get to know and what part of their job they will collaborate in. Then ask them to book the meetings themselves and then they can discuss and get information on the relevant areas. If they are to meet a lot of people without an agenda or clear focus, they may feel a bit uncomfortable and impatient.

A people-oriented person (B>A in PI)
Here we have someone who gets energy from people with a focus on the team and collaborations. Giving them the opportunity to meet all the relevant people, team lunches and group coffee breaks is a great idea. They would like to be involved in projects with other people and should not be asked to sit alone and work with their own isolated projects or tasks during their first period. If we don’t do this, there is a big risk that they will quite quickly feel lonely and unwelcome.

Someone who likes taking ownership, challenges and running fast (A>C in PI)
To make sure that they get the best start into your company, you want to give them responsibility for smaller projects and tasks early on, maybe already their first week. They will like the challenge and get motivated by it, and they will feel like they are achieving something and learning as they work. If they aren’t getting their own projects and responsibilities early on, they will rather quickly think “God I’m bored” and start looking for something new.

The detail-oriented collaborator with a quality focus (D>A in PI)
Here you need a structured framework with clear rules and expectations. This is a person who wants to minimize the risk of making a mistake that affects the team, by fully understanding how the task is supposed to be executed. They will appreciate a written guide with a clear step-by-step process, and the possibility to work closely with someone they can ask when they become unsure. If this is not provided, they could get stressed and unable to execute or learn at the pace you had hoped for.

The flexible and independent person (A>D in PI)
This person doesn’t like to be restricted to rules and frameworks that are too tight. They will not get motivated by only sitting and doing E-Learning, reading instructions, and following rigid processes during their first time in the organization. Instead, give them the goal, an overview of the processes, and the expected result and they will be able to find their way there, or ask when they feel they need it.

A process-driven, fast-working person who likes clear expectations (D>C in PI)
This is someone who early on likes to get to work with multiple different tasks and responsibilities while having a clear understanding of the rules and expectations. Make sure to provide them with detailed instructions and explanations of the processes for multiple different tasks, giving them the opportunity to have variety in their work early on, while still fulfilling their need for quality, structure, and framework.

Someone who is analytical, reflective, and appreciates a clear framework (D>B in PI)
This person will really appreciate it if you present a structured, fact-based, process-oriented onboarding on their first day. In the onboarding, make sure to include time for reflection and schedule time for follow-up meetings where the person can ask their questions. If you want them to present themselves in front of a group of people, please let them know beforehand so they can reflect and prepare what they would like to say.

Conclusions

To sum it up, you need to look at the newcomer’s behavioral pattern, what factor combinations are the strongest, and then tweak the onboarding just a little bit according to them. Because when you meet your employees’ motivating needs and drives and know what will make them successful, you have the solution for how to effectively onboard this person.

Regardless of if you are an existing customer today or a potential future client, reach out to us if you are curious to understand more about how you can create a successful onboarding with help of people data!

You can contact your current Predictio contact or reach out to info@predictio.com and we will be happy to support you!

Best Regards,

The Predictio Team